I Can Heal You, Severus
by pingu9789
Summary: Ruby Winston is a 7th year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the first rise of Voldemort. When she finds out that her favorite professor, Slughorn, has been replaced with a young potions master named Severus Snape she vows that she will never like him. But maybe Professor Snape isn't as horrible has Ruby thinks.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Ruby Winston. I have wavy red hair, green eyes, and the palest skin you have ever seen. I live with my parents and two younger brothers on a farm outside of Surrey during the summers. My mother, my father, and my brothers are non-magical. The day I received my letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, my parents were convinced it was a joke and threw my letter away.

I was upset because for a moment I was convinced there was magic in the world and something about that made me feel like maybe I could have belonged somewhere. Things I nor my parents could explain had been happening since I turned 8. Once when my brother, Louis, was bothering me the chair he was jumping on suddenly broke into pieces resulting in a sprained wrist for him.

Owls kept showing up to the farm with letters identical to the first and finally another envelope with instructions on how to get to a place called "Diagon Alley" came with one of the letters. My parents fed up with the noise the owls made and the mess they left behind decided to have a look at finding this place. My first trip to Diagon Alley is something I will always remember; the smells, the sights, the extravagance of Gringotts when my parents needed to exchange muggle money for Wizard money, getting my wand, buying books and finding my first cauldron. I knew straight away that I would love potion making, flipping through that first potions book everything was so precise and scientific in a way.

It was finally my 7th Year at Hogwarts! I was excited because I was almost done with my school career and one step closer to becoming a healer. This summer had been difficult with all of the things He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been doing not only to the wizarding world but to the muggle world as well. Every day I worried that my family and I would be victims of random violence at the hands of the Death Eaters. My parents were worried about letting me go back to school but I explained that Hogwarts was the safest place for me to be under the watchful eye of Headmaster Dumbledore.

I was of age to apparate and decided to go to Diagon Alley for my 7th year supplies without risking my parents and brothers be hurt trying to travel with me. Everything changed from the first year I had come. Everyone was quieter, there wasn't the normal cheer, bustle, and air of excitement there normally was. Families huddled closer together and didn't waste time browsing in shops. They avoided making eye contact with anyone outside of their shopping circle. Many shops were empty and boarded up. I completed my shopping and headed to The Leaky Cauldron to take out a room.

I had never slept so horribly in my life. Every sound I heard I was convinced the Death Eaters and possibly even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had come to off all those who didn't follow him. I did live to see the sun rise and foggy brained and circle eyed I made my way to King's Cross to catch the Hogwarts express. I grabbed a trolley and with the help of a kind passerby lifted my trunk onto it. I walked quickly to the entrance of Platform 9 ¾. The rush of running full speed at a solid looking brick wall never got old. I knew I would pass through but I closed my eyes tight at the last second every time.

I was relieved to find my friend Susan Samuels had returned for her last year despite the scary happenings. I was always studying and didn't have much time for friends. It started out that way because I wasn't sure how to make friends with Wizards and I found other things to do. I wasn't sure how many others were like me and then I met Susan, she was muggle born like me and we were fast friends. She was more interested in becoming an Auror and put more effort into defense against the Dark Arts classes than I did.

I was correct with my first instincts that I would love potions. The first potion I made in Professor Slughorn's class was the memory I used when we learned how to conjure a patronus it made me that happy. Slughorn was certainly my favorite teacher and I was eager to see him and continue Potions for my N.E. .

Susan and I caught up with each other and found an empty compartment and hoisted out trunks into the lofts. The train left the station taking us on our way to our last first night back at Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

The train chugged closer to Hogwarts. Susan and I decided it was time that we change into our robes. I smoothed out my robes with my hands and looked down at my blue Ravenclaw patch. It was a strange feeling when I thought about how next year I wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts.

"I still can't believe they are continuing school with that crazy out and about." Susan said sitting back in her seat for the remainder of the trip.

"Hogwarts really is the safest place for us." I said taking the seat opposite her, "I'm more worried about my family than I am about myself."

Susan bit her lip. "I feel bad about leaving my parents. What if they end up in the wrong place at the wrong time? They won't be able to even try to defend themselves."

"The most we can do from here is hope that someone puts an end to this soon." I sighed.

Raindrops started to hit the window of our compartment. Dark grey clouds lay ahead. I bright flash of lightning illuminated the ominous sky followed by a low rumble of thunder.

By the time we arrived at Hogwarts the storm was in full swing. The wind pelted cold rain into our faces. I could barely hear Groundskeeper Hagrid's voice over the rain and wind. Lightning flashed followed immediately by a loud crack of thunder. The short first years were jogging to Hagrid and the rest of us ran to the carriages pulled by the thestrals. Neither Susan nor I was able to see them which we weren't too upset about. I chose a carriage with two fifth year Ravenclaws.

We stopped in front of the castle and quickly jumped out of the carriage and sprinted to the front doors. As soon as we passed through the doors we were all instantly dry and warm. I smiled to myself and thought about how much I loved this place. Susan and I followed the others into the Great Hall for the welcoming feast. As always the professors were already sitting at the head table except professor McGonagall who always escorted first years before the sorting. Susan and I sat next to each other at the Ravenclaw table. I looked up at the professors to wave at Professor Slughorn.

He wasn't in his normal seat. His chair sat empty. I searched the staff table for him. Perhaps he and Professor Flitwick were having one of their conversations. He wasn't anywhere.

"What's the matter?" Susan asked.

"Professor Slughorn isn't at the table. I wonder where he could be." I mused.

"He might be running late. Eccentric people have a tendency to be late, it wouldn't be the first time." She offered.

Susan was right. Professor Slughorn wasn't always the most punctual teacher.

"But it looks like I have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor…again." Susan groaned, "It's a miracle that I can learn anything with a new professor every year."

"It's because you're so smart." I smiled at her.

Just then a young man with curtains of black hair and billowy black robes came through the doors. He made his way swiftly to the head table and took a seat in Professor Slughorn's chair. My stomach dropped.

"I'm sure that's nothing." Susan said.

"I hope it's not. It's our seventh year. I can't have someone new teaching me potions in my N.E. year, especially someone that young. He couldn't have any spectacular knowledge of potions, not like Slughorn did. It would completely ruin everything, Susan." I worried.

"Ruby, breathe. Even if he is replacing Slughorn, which I seriously doubt, I don't think Dumbledore would hire someone he didn't think was qualified." Susan said as she comfortingly rubbed my shoulder.

I inhaled and exhaled. The butterflies in my stomach died down a bit but I was still nervous about the possibility of not having Slughorn for the most important year of my school career. I looked up at the head table and the new professor was looking at the students with a disdainful sneer on his face not the cheery grin Slughorn greeted everyone with. Some of the butterflies came back to life.

Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall carrying a stool with the sorting hat sitting on top followed closely by a number of scared looking first years. She set the stool down in front of the head table and took a step back.

The Sorting hat began its song. It told the story of each house and that its job was to place each child where they would become their greatest. The song this year ended with words of hope and the promise of triumph over darkness.

At the end of the song McGonagall called out the names of the first years to be sorted into their houses. The crowd of new students thinned out and finally the last student sat down and was sorted into Slytherin.

Dumbledore finally stood up and made his way behind his podium.

"Welcome, welcome, everyone." He started. "I would like to take this opportunity to inform you all that there will be special precautions taken this year to ensure everyone's safety, as always though the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all. I am sure all returning students recognize that we have two new additions to the head table the year. First we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Edgewoode.

He gestured to the man with a bushy mustache that Susan was talking about before. "And also it is my pleasure to introduce our new Potions Master, Professor Snape. Professor Snape is also the new Head of House to Slytherin." Dumbledore motioned to the young man with black hair and clapped his hands together. The Slytherin table clapped enthusiastically but I turned away from the head table and stared at the wood grain of the Ravenclaw table. My final year at Hogwarts was already ruined.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning as I sat at the Ravenclaw table pushing my eggs and bacon around on my plate I received my class schedule. I had potions every day and double potions on Tuesdays and Thursdays followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts. I would have been very happy about that had it not been for the scowling new professor with the greasy black hair. What was his name? I looked at my schedule and read the name Professor Snape. Good thing Monday and Wednesday I had Herbology after potions. I liked that class too.

Susan grabbed my schedule from my hands. "We have Charms and Transfiguration together." She said with a smile. The smile slid off her face when she saw that I hadn't eaten anything. "Oh, Stop sulking, you. It isn't the end of the world to have a new professor now is it? You have enough potions classes that I'm sure you'll like him well enough by the end of the week, you might be surprised to find that he is better than Slughorn."

I slammed my fork down on the table and stood up quickly almost making myself fall backwards over the bench. "No, one could be better than Slughorn!"

I snatched my schedule out of her hands and marched angrily to Charms. People stared at me as I left the Great Hall and I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

Susan ran up next to me. "Ruby, I'm sorry, I know how much you liked Slughorn but it's not the end of the world. You only have a few months with this new guy and then you'll be done with Hogwarts."

I let out a sigh. "I know, but I'm not going to like him." I said the last bit with an air of defiance.

"I never said you had to."

"Good, because I won't."

Susan laughed a little at me and shook her head.

Charms went quickly enough since we just reviewed some of the last things we learned before summer holiday. Susan and I split up. She headed for Divination, I never understood why she liked that class, especially with that Professor Trelawney that started two years ago, and I went to the dungeons for Potions.

The room seemed far darker than it had when Slughorn had been the professor. I sat at a table near the back instead of in front like I used to. I took out my books and set up my scales and cauldron and waited for class to begin. Everyone else in the room was quiet and unsure looking. The door burst open and the new professor walked purposefully to the front of the room. He had the same sneer from last night on his face.

"There will be a few changes to my class." He began in a low voice every word drawn out. "First, this class is not meant to be fun. I know that was Slughorn's main objective but mine is to make you learn. I may look young but I will not tolerate foolishness in any form in my class. It is up to me what I consider to be foolish behavior and if I catch you in the act you will be immediately excused from my class and not welcome back. Do you all understand?"

Everyone avoided eye contact and slowly nodded their heads.

"Good, then let's begin attendance." Snape droned. "Abernathy, Penelope." A Hufflepuff girl raised her hand. "Gregorian, Peter." A Slytherin boy with curly brown hair raised his hand.

"Winston, Ruby." He called finally. My heart jumped and I was afraid to move and risk being deemed foolish by Snape and kicked out but I raised my hand slowly anyways. He looked in the direction of my movement. His eyes widened and the sneer fell from his face. His lips parted slightly and he took a breath, his chest tightened with the air. I felt like he looked at me for a long time like that before he tightened his lips again and made a mark on the parchment he held. As soon as his eyes left me I felt the hair on my arms raise and my stomach was set to burst with the rapidly fluttering butterflies that just came to life.

A tingle ran up my spine the next time he spoke. I focused more on keeping the butterflies from bringing up the little bit of breakfast I ate than on what he was saying. The calm deep drone of his voice was oddly soothing. But what was that all about. He looked like a startled him. Oh God, did I have something on my face? I wiped both of my hands over my face and looked at them to see if anything rubbed off. Nothing. I looked up to see that he appeared to be making eye contact with all of the other students but purposely avoiding my corner of the room. This was ridiculous I didn't even want him to be here why should I care if he didn't like me?

I shook my head and began to pay attention.

"…and I also want a foot of parchment on the uses of Belladonna." Professor Snape finished.

Everyone started packing up their things and made for the door. I was sure I had missed part of the assignment. I quickly threw my things into my bag and sprinted after Snape before he went into his office.

"Professor," I called. "I'm sorry but I think I missed part of the assignment. I heard the bit about the uses of Belladonna but I missed the part before that." I tried to force a smile but he stared at me with a disdainful scowl. I tried to laugh but it got caught in my throat and I just started coughing.

"Miss Winston is it? I didn't think I needed to iterate at this level the importance of listening but apparently you are a special case. I am going to do you a favor and not repeat the homework to you. Perhaps next time you will pay attention." He stepped inside his office and shut the door.

I knocked on his door. "Professor, I apologize. I normally pay attention very well and I'm not sure what happened today…"

"I suggest you leave this instant or I wouldn't bother returning to another potions class, Miss Winston." He said menacingly on the other side of the door.

I pulled my hand back from his door, my heart in my throat. I turned on my heel and left the classroom.

I wasn't in the mood for lunch so I skipped it and went into the library to start looking up uses for Belladonna. I was about half way finished when I looked up and realized it was time for Herbology.

Professor Sprout met us by the entrance to escort us to the greenhouse (part of the additional safety precautions). It was still raining but not as hard as the previous night. My shoes made a squishing sound on the ground. I thought it was strange that I could hear the sound of my own shoes until I noticed that everyone was silently following Professor Sprout all heads bent to the ground. It seemed as though the thought of needing an escort on school grounds made us all too nervous to speak and made it feel as though we could be attacked at any moment.

Herbology passed as usual. I spent the walk back to the castle picking the dirt out from under my fingernails and once inside the castle I made my way up to the library to finish my potions homework. I felt this need to prove to Professor Snape that I was serious about potions, especially considering the event this morning. I worked extra hard in hopes that my paper would even impress him. I read the first couple chapters in the book in hopes that that might have been the part of the assignment I missed. I looked up at the clock. It was slightly past 6 and time for dinner. I finally felt hungry.

I made my way down to the Great Hall and found Susan sitting at the Ravenclaw table reading her Defense Against the Dark Arts book over her plate of Steak and Kidney pie.

She looked up at me. "So, how was potions?" She asked me closing her book.

I helped myself to some Shepard's Pie. "That man is impossible." I moaned.

"You've had one class with him and you already know he's impossible?" She challenged. "Are you sure you aren't exaggerating a bit?"

"Susan, I missed what part of the assignment was, only part, and when I asked him about the part that I missed he told me he was doing me a favor by not telling me and shut his office door in my face. Naturally I apologized and was about to ask one more time. He told me to leave or not to bother coming back to another potions lesson…so I say again; that man is impossible." I took a fork full of my food and looked at her.

"Maybe he's just proving that he is serious about his subject and going a bit overboard." She said. "He was just a student here a few years ago."

"How long ago?" I asked.

"Well I was talking with Mark Wizenby from Gryffindor in my D.A. class and…first do you remember James Potter?" I nodded my head "Ok well Mark was saying that James and his friends used to make fun of Snape when they were all students and called him Snivellus. They were 7th years when we were 4th years."

I nodded my head to show that I was following her story.

"And I know you remember Lily Evans. She and Snape were friends all the way back before they even came to Hogwarts and I guess one day he called her a Mudblood."

I gasped, "He didn't."

"He did. Lily apparently never forgave him and James Potter didn't appreciate it either."

I looked up at the head table to see that Professor Snape was watching me. As soon as our eyes met he looked quickly away. He took a gulp from his goblet, vacated his seat, and took his long confident steps from the Great Hall.

I looked to Susan to see what she thought of what just happened but she was busy with her pudding and hadn't seen any of it.


	4. Chapter 4

"You've been talking about that since last night." Susan groaned as we walked to Transfiguration. "You're thinking too much about it. I don't think Professor Snape hates you and I don't think he was staring at you. You've seen him. He scowls at everyone at meal times."

"Then explain why he got up so quickly after I saw him looking at me." I insisted.

Susan stopped dead in the hall and turned to me. "Ruby, stop. He was probably just done eating and went to take care of…Snape-y things…I don't know, I'll have him today and I can tell you what I think of him."

We continued down the hall and entered the Transfiguration classroom. McGonagall was already standing in the front of the classroom. Susan and I took or seats in the second row.

"We will get right to business today because the spell you will be practicing is very complex." She began "We will be taking a lifeless rock and turning into a dog. Everyone should already have a rock on the table in front of you. I will be walking around to make sure no one is bitten."

By the end of class I had a Jack Russell on my desk with only one stone ear. Susan had only managed to get her rock to bark but she couldn't get it to stop. One Hufflepuff boy's rock grew a mouth and latched itself onto his finger. McGonagall was able to get it off but the boy was sent to the hospital wing to grow a new finger.

"Have fun with potions." Susan winked at me. "Are you going to actually show up to lunch today?"

"I will never have fun with potions again." I crossed my arms and made a fake pouty face. "I'm just going to work harder to get him to like me…it's a problem. And yes, I will definitely be at lunch today."

Susan and I waved goodbye to each other and I headed down to the dungeons again.

I took my seat in the back again. Professor Snape stepped out of his office and stood at the front of class. Without saying a word he flicked his wand and the parchments of the Belladonna uses flew through the air and stacked themselves on the table beside him.

He made a flick of his wand and the instructions and ingredients for Oculus Potion appeared on the board.

"The Oculus Potion as you all should have read about as part of your homework," Snape made a show of looking at me and a few of the other students followed his gaze; I felt my cheeks blush and I looked down to my cauldron. "Will restore the drinker's sight and it also counteracts the Conjunctivitis Curse. This potion has many stages and I will be able to tell immediately when you make a mistake. Though, at this level I should expect that I will be seeing twelve vials of deep orange potions on my desk by the end of class. Get started."

I read through the instructions on the board twice before I started my potion. I began by adding ground unicorn horn until the potion was a grass green color and stirred it clockwise until it turned a royal purple.

I looked up to see that the board was being blocked by a cloud of red smoke. Snape made a swoop with is wand and the cloud of crimson smoke was gone and the cauldron it had been billowing from was empty. The professor didn't say a word but shook his head at the student in a disappointed manner.

I added the stewed mandrake and my potion turned a lovely turquoise. I avoided looking at Professor Snape and concentrated only on my potion. By the end of class I placed a vile of pumpkin orange potion on his desk. I looked at the other vials and felt fairly confident that mine was the closest to what it should have been. Penelope Abernathy placed her vial of a manky yellow liquid next to mine and quickly turned to leave the classroom her head hanging.

I walked back to my desk to collect my things before leaving. I turned to see Snape pick up my vial and turned it over in his hands.

"Don't you have somewhere else you need to be Miss Winston?" He said without turning around still studying my vial.

My heart jumped into my throat and I turned quickly to leave, the last thing I needed was for him to have an excuse to kick me out of his class.

After a few weeks I had a pretty good feel for all of my classes and a good homework rotation schedule. Professor Edgewoode the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was a nice mannered very knowledgeable man and I was beginning to enjoy that class most of all. As for potions class, as long as I kept quiet and paid attention Snape wasn't so bad. He gave me grades of mostly E's and A's on my homework and potions. The grades seemed fair enough and even if they weren't I wasn't going to take a chance by confronting him about it.

I was working on my Transfiguration homework in the Ravenclaw common room when Susan burst in. She slammed her bag on the table and made me jump. I snapped my head up to look at her; her face was beet red.

"I hate him!" She shouted at me.

"Woah, calm down, you hate who?" I asked.

Susan threw herself dramatically in the chair across from me and started digging in her bag. She ripped out the parchment with her potions homework written on it and she slammed it down in front of me. "He gave me a T! Can you believe that I mean—it's not funny, Ruby!"

I brought my hand up to stifle my giggle. "I'm sorry I know it's not funny. I just thought that grade was a myth."

"Well apparently it's not and that stupid, arrogant, git thinks that I deserve it!" She picked up the parchment and ripped it in half.

"Now I'm not trying to take sides because I don't like him either…but is it possible you could have done something to make him angry?" I rushed to make my question sound less accusatory. "Only because he seems like the type to let personal dislikes get in the way of his grading."

Susan opened her mouth and then closed it. "It wasn't my fault, Mark Wizenby made a joke under his breath and I started to giggle while Snape was talking about the effects Polyjuice Potion could have when animal hair is used instead of human hair. I think he was talking about someone who accidentally used ferret hair instead and…well I sort of burst out laughing. But he shouldn't give me bad grades because of that!"

"Susan, I honestly think he likes you. If that would have been me I wouldn't have to worry about getting a 'T' on an assignment because he would have kicked me out of his class for good without even a second thought. You'll be fine. I'm sure this is a one-time only occurrence to make sure you understand he doesn't like goofing off in class."

She looked down at the T on her paper; her expression still extremely sad.

"Can we please talk about how much you seem to talk to Mark Wizenby?" I smirked at her.

Her cheeks turned red and one of her blonde curls fell in front of her face. "He's just nice that's all."

"Are you sure that's all? Because don't you two sit by each other in all the classes you have together and he seems to like to make you laugh."

She smiled. "He did ask me if I wanted to go with him to Hogsmeade if there's an outing this school year. I really hope there is, I do want to spend more time with him outside of classes and I hope You-Know-Who is killed or something so the staff won't be worried about a student being hurt."

I grinned at her and went back to working on my homework.


	5. Chapter 5

Once September was over the professors really started to load on the homework. I thought O.W.L year had a lot of homework but that was nothing compared to now. Every night Susan and I sat in the common room with stacks of books researching and writing essays. In class work was getting harder as well. Professor Snape was getting more difficult but he tended to leave me be as I was a fairly competent potion maker and there wasn't much to pick on and I liked to keep it that way.

Before I knew it Halloween had come. I woke up that Saturday morning and headed down to breakfast.

"This is the best day of year to be a witch and I'm going to be stuck doing homework." I whined as I buttered my toast.

"Well, what better way to be a witch on Halloween than working on magic?" Susan shrugged and ate a spoonful of porridge. "It's not like we can go anywhere anyways, the grounds are on lockdown because of You-Know-Who."

"Today would have been a perfect day to go to Hogsmeade." I said before taking a bite of toast.

"Well, we can't leave the grounds and you know that." Susan said and glared at me.

"All I'm saying is I would rather spend the day in Hogsmeade than in the common room doing homework. What are Sundays for if not to give you time to do the things you didn't want to do on Saturday?"

"And how do you propose we leave the grounds without being noticed?"

"Are you guys planning on going somewhere?" Mark Wizenby asked as he squeezed next to Susan at our table. "I can help with that under one condition."

"And what is that?" I asked eagerly.

"If you two are going somewhere cool then I want to come too." He smiled.

"I think it would be fun to spend Halloween in Hogsmeade." I explained.

"But she knows that there is no way off the grounds because of the added security measures." Susan added glaring at me.

"I know of a way." Mark smirked. "And I am going to go with you two to Hogsmeade."

"No way, Mark." Susan blurted. "We'll all get into trouble."

"We'll only get into trouble if we get caught and I don't plan on letting that happen." Mark winked at Susan and placed his hand over hers.

"What's the plan?" I asked.

"Once, when I wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmeade for reasons that will be kept secret from you two, Sirius Black offered to sneak me in. He took me through a secret passage and I led right to Hogsmeade."

Susan Scoffed. "A secret passage I'm sure."

"Susie, this might be our only chance to go to Hogsmeade this year. Don't you at least want to try?" Mark moved his hand from Susan's to her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. Susan seemed to melt a little.

"Susie?" I laughed.

"Shut up, Ruby!" She yelled.

I smiled and put my hands up defensively.

"Okay," Susan conceded. "Where is this secret passage then?"

"It's in that one-eyed witch statue by the stairs to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. You have to say a password but I'm pretty sure I remember it." Mark said still looking into Susan's eyes not acknowledging my presence at the table anymore.

"Great!" I said clapping my hands together and causing them both to snap their heads in my direction. "After breakfast we can go change into different clothes so that it isn't as obvious that we are students and we can head to Hogsmeade for Halloween."

Susan looked nervously at Mark who seemed to be into the idea of sneaking to Hogsmeade. She furrowed her brow but then smoothed out her face and forced a smile. "Well, what are we waiting for?" She said in false excitement. "Let's go." She got up from her place at the table and made her way from the Great Hall. Mark and I followed.

Once we had parted ways with Mark as he headed to the Gryffindor passage and we made our way to Ravenclaw tower Susan turned to me in the hall and blocked me. "Are you completely mad?" She shouted at me. "We're going to get caught!"

"You don't have to come. I could go with Mark all by myself though I think he would be upset if you didn't come."

Susan's cheeks blushed. "Do you really think he likes me?" She asked with a hopeful smile but her smile quickly turned to a scowl "Uhh, you are so manipulative!" She groaned before she moved out of my way and we started on our way to the tower again.

We changed out of our house robes and into regular clothes. Susan spent some extra time putting on make-up and I just threw my hair up in a ponytail.

Susan and I walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom and we saw Mark standing next to the one-eyed witch statue. His eyes lit up and he smiled when he saw Susan. A pang of jealousy exploded in my gut; no one ever looked at me like that. I shoved the jealously to the back of my mind and stood next to the statue.

"Okay, so now what?" I asked Mark.

He smiled and took out his wand. He tapped the hump with his wand. "Dissendium." He said.

There was the scraping sound of stone rubbing over stone and the hump opened revealing stairs that headed into a tunnel. We heard footsteps and rushed into the passage. The noise of stone sounded and we were surrounded in darkness.

"Lumos." I said and the tip of my wand lit. Mark and Susan did the same.

"Where does this come out?" I asked.

"In the basement of Honeyduke's." Mark answered.

"So, were you good friends with Siriu-" Before I could finish my question Susan let out a loud scream and threw herself into Mark and clung tight to his arm. He just looked at her and smiled.

"I'm sorry." She said and loosened her grip on his arm. "A spider dropped down in front of my face and it…I over-reacted. I'm sorry."

We kept walking through the tunnel and Mark draped his arm over Susan's shoulders. My jealousy came back. Also the sick feeling of knowing I was now the third wheel.

We emerged from the passage into a dark dusty room filled with barrels and boxes. Mark led the way to a ladder going up to a trap door above our heads. He climbed up first and helped Susan through the opening. By the time I climbed into the shop Mark and Susan were already leaving through the front door. I closed the trap door to the basement as quietly as I could in my hurry to catch up to them. I briefly considered going back down and returning to Hogwarts because I was sure I wouldn't be missed by those two but something pushed me to stick with them.

I caught up with them just as they were turning to enter the Three Broomsticks. I ran up behind them. Hogsmeade was oddly empty especially for a holiday like Halloween. Mark grabbed for the door handle. I thought I could see three dark hooded figures behind the window in the door to the pub. One of the three figures appeared to turn and slowly raise its arm. Without even thinking about it I tackled Mark and Susan to the ground, broken glass showered over our heads as a green curse broke through the door.

Mark and Susan were visibly shocked but there was no time to stop. I grabbed both of their arms and pulled to make them get up. The door burst open and three men in hooded black cloaks stepped outside. All of them wore masks that covered their faces. I took off running with my hands wrapped tightly around Mark and Susan's wrists to make sure they were still with me. Many colored curses flew passed us as we ran down the street. I considered returning to the trap door in Honeyduke's but they were so close to us that it would just lead them right into Hogwarts.

I took a quick turn into Dogweed and Deathcap. I ran between the rows of plants with Mark and Susan close behind. I flung myself to the ground in the middle of the shelves and pulled Susan down with me. I moved my finger to my mouth to signal to them both to be quiet. There was a crash as the door was ripped from its hinges and fell loudly to the floor. Susan let out a whimper and I covered her mouth with my hand. Footsteps sounded on the floor. They were getting dangerously close to our location. I reached around on the shelf behind me for anything. My fingers wrapped around a small potted plant that appeared to be oozing pus and I threw it across the room. One of the Death Eaters reacted to the noise and sent a curse flying in that direction and sent a potted adolescent mandrake crashing to the floor. I pulled my hand from Susan's mouth and covered my ears.

One of the Death Eaters was very close to us when the Mandrake's pot shattered because he fell unconscious at the end of the row we were hiding in. His mask fell away from his face but I didn't recognize him. Susan screamed. As soon as her mouth opened I hopped up and started running in the opposite direction of the fallen Death Eater. I turned the corner and had to jump over the unconscious lump of a second black cloaked body. As we neared the front door I saw the third of the bunch with his hands held tightly over his ears. As soon as his eyes found us he took off running after us. We were back in the open Hogsmeade square. My hands were usable again as soon as we were a few feet away from Dogweed and Deathcap. I reached in my pocket and withdrew my wand. I clenched it tight in my fingers and my head swarmed with all the curses I had learned over the years trying to figure out which would be best used.

"IMMOBULUS!" A deep loud voice yelled.

The stride of the Death Eater stopped. I turned quickly to see that he had been frozen in place. I looked around and a man who bared a striking resemblance to Dumbledore stood outside the Hog's Head. Susan fell to her knees sobbing and Mark kneeled next to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. I stood still and kept my eyes on the man standing outside the pub.

"You all best head back to school." He said his voice carried well across the breeze. "You shouldn't be here. Something strange is going to happen tonight mark my words."

The strange man turned and walked calmly inside. The wind started blowing furiously and howled between the bare tree branches.

I helped Mark get Susan to her feet and we walked past the still frozen Death Eater back to the trapdoor in Honeyduke's.

By the time we exited the witches hump in Hogwarts there was a full blown storm outside. Cracks of thunder reverberated around the halls. Mark shrugged a goodbye to Susan and I before he headed in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Susan didn't acknowledge him and turned on her heel in the direction of Ravenclaw Tower. I turned after her.

As soon as Mark was out of view I stopped Susan. "What was that all about?" I asked tipping my head in the direction Mark wandered off in.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said and tried to continue walking."

I took a step in front of her and blocked her path. "You completely ignored him just then." I said. "All that time in Hogsmeade and you couldn't have been bothered to wait for me to get out of the basement of Honeyduke's before you were almost out the door with him and you just went through all of that and he never let go of your hand and now you're ignoring him? You don't make sense, Sue."

She looked thoughtfully to the floor and mumbled something under her breathe.

"What was that?" I asked.

"You ruined everything!" She shouted at me. "Mark and I were fine the way we were and then you just had to go to Hogsmeade. I told you it was a bad idea but you didn't listen and now I am positive Mark thinks I'm trouble and will never talk to me again and it's all your fault, Ruby!"

She shouldered me out of her way and started stomping away.

I ran after her. "Sue, stop. I'm sure he doesn't think you're trouble. If anything he thinks I'm trouble he knows it wasn't your idea to go. But to be honest he knew that we were breaking rules even by going and if he doesn't normally do things like rule breaking then the only reason he went along was to spend time with you so I don't think he hates you."

She looked up at me suppressing a small smile. "You really think he went because of me?"

"Well he sure didn't go because of me. I don't think he would have noticed if I would have disappeared."

Sue smiled and we walked the rest of the way to Ravenclaw tower with our elbows linked.

The remainder of the afternoon Susan and I spent in the Common Room doing homework. Neither of us talked about what had happened in Hogsmeade though we both knew that was all the other was thinking about.

What did that man mean that something strange was going to happen tonight? Did it have anything to do with the reason those Death Eaters were in Hogsmeade? What had we been about to walk in on? My head swarmed with questions and replayed images of what happened.

"Ruby!" Susan said and shook my shoulders. I blinked my eyes and looked at her. "Ruby, you haven't written anything in almost an hour and you've just been staring at the wall. Are you okay? Do you need to go to Madam Pomfrey?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm alright. I was just thinking." I pressed the quill in my hand to the paper.

"Ruby, it's time for the Halloween Feast." Susan said as she lifted my quill out of my hand and placed it beside my roll of parchment.

We made our way down to the Great Hall. As always the ceiling mimicked the sky outside. The dark rolling clouds and bolts of lightning made for a spooky addition to the Jack-O-Lanterns hovering in the air over the tables. I scanned the head table and noticed that Snape was missing.

"Where do you think Snape is?" I asked.

"Probably lying unconscious in Dogweed and Deathcap." She scoffed.

My head snapped in her direction. "What?" I said giving her a chance to rethink what she said.

"Mark says Professor Snape is definitely the type to follow You-Know-Who." She said adding a pile of mashed potatoes to her plate.

"Sue, think about it. Do you honestly think Dumbledore would hire a Death Eater to teach at Hogwarts?"

She shrugged and continued eating her supper.

I looked back up at the head table. When my eyes crossed Dumbledore my stomach churned. There was a look in Dumbledore's eyes that I had never seen on the Headmaster before: Fear.


End file.
